Councils are required to maintain their green spaces. These include parks, gardens, nature reserves and sports facilities.

WBC’s contract with Kirklees is due to expire in November and the council’s Executive decided the best way forward is to run the service itself.

Senior councillors said it would provide better value for money and ensure a flexible service for residents regardless of how the pending local government reorganisation pans out.

Within the next two years Surrey’s boroughs, districts and county will be dissolved and merged in a yet-to-be-decided new layout and the leader of the Conservative opposition at Waverley, Jane Austin believes the decision should have been left until after the impending council reorganisation.

Cllr Jane Austin

She said: “Two months ago we successfully got the previous grounds maintenance contract decision rescinded – due to unreliable and inaccurate information. While reports have improved, this £1 million spend remains an unnecessary use of council reserves, thinly justified by greenwashing, just prior to Local Government Reorganisation.

“The current contractor Krinkels is performing well and has offered a short-term extension that would provide value, continuity, and flexibility to align with LGR.

“The new contract decision should rest with the incoming unitary authority, not be rushed through as part of this outgoing Lib Dem-led Waverley spending spree. Right now the focus should be prioritising financial responsibility.”

Cllr Paul Follows

But Lib Dem Council Leader Paul Follows believed the change will bring benefits. He said: “Grass will carry on growing while we are a new authority.

“The people who live here will benefit long after Waverley Borough Council does not.”

And Steve Williams (Green), portfolio holder for Environment and Sustainability, told the reconvened cabinet meeting on Monday July 7,  the decision followed the unprecedented step of rescinding the original report but that we was confident in the latest version.

Cllr Steve Williams

He said: “I believe that it presents a clear and compelling case for bringing our grounds maintenance service in-house.

“It allows for a realistic mobilisation date of November 1, 2025, subject to full council approval of the £1 million required to equip the new service run by Waverley Borough Council.”

He added: “Waverley is undergoing a shift in how we manage land and assets in particularly as a result of Local Government Reorganisation with the increasing community asset transfers to town and parish councils taking place. This in-sourced service makes absolute sense.

“A contracted out service lacks the agility to adapt to this kind of local variation without triggering change notices, legal complications and cost penalties.

“An in-house team gives us the flexibility to reconfigure those services and design new operating arrangements in partnership with other local councils quickly and without friction.”

He added that, once Waverley Borough Council is dissolved it would allow it to  “hand over a flexible responsive and accountable model rather than encumbering a new authority with a rigid long-term contract.”